Several prior U.S. patents, some of them very old, disclose dispensing holders for elongated slender articles such as toothpicks and matches, from which such articles can be readily withdrawn one by one without the need for opening a cover or performing any other preparatory operation. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 102,499 issued to F. B. Coleman in 1870, No. 247,765 issued to J. Keebler in 1881, No. 371,621 issued to O. Offrell in 1887, No. 409,055 issued to W. B. Mitchell in 1889, No. 575,489 issued to Z. D. Morrow in 1897, No. 689,053, issued to Anderson et al in 1901, and No. 892,391 issued to K. G. Blomquist in 1908.
Each of these prior devices has some distinct and readily apparent disadvantage. Most of them comprise more than two parts, and all of them require relatively complicated, expensive or laborious assembly operations in their manufacture, so that none of them can be considered truly inexpensive. In each case the device is intended to be secured to an upright supporting surface by means of a nail or screw that must be driven into the supporting surface, occasioning some inconvenience for installation and leaving an unsightly blemish when removed.
Other dispensing holders for toothpicks and the like have been arranged to be supported on a horizontal surface such as a counter top, but such holders tend to be more complicated and expensive, especially when they provide for withdrawal of the articles one at a time, and they have the further important disadvantage of occupying working area that may be rather limited.